Trapeze or hiking harnesses are worn while sailing a sailboat in the manner called "hiking out" and are used for attaching a person to the boat by a line to the mast or other structure while the person is leaning out over the side of the boat to balance the boat while underway. This type of sailing can be done with single or multiple hull boats. It is possible to increase the speed of the boat since the weight of the person hanging over the side of the boat increases the resistance to the boat tipping over. Generally, the trapeze harness passes around the crotch and buttock of the wearer and fastens in the front to a buckle which is tied to the line attached to the boat. In some instances, straps have been attached to the back panel of the harness and extended up over the shoulders and down to the same buckle. While wearing a trapeze harness, the person is not protected with a flotation device and if the line to the boat were to break, the sailor would fall into the water and the harness would provide little or no flotation whatsoever.
It is a requirement that life saving vests approved by the U.S. Coast Guard be used on all boats over sixteen feet in length. There must be at least one U.S. Coast Guard approved life saving device on board for each person aboard the boat. Those who use a trapeze or hiking harness must also carry separate life vests aboard the boat and this is a real disadvantage for smaller boats, especially in competition, since storage space is almost nonexistant and, of course, the added weight and bulk are a problem. Life vests are usually too bulky and cumbersome to wear over the trapeze harness and for this reason sailors tend not to wear the two together. When a life vest is worn, it extends downwardly past the bend line at the waist and interferes with the activities of the wearer. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,774, flotation has been applied to a parachute harness but such a device is not suitable to wear while engaged in sailing activities.